I HAD just four hours' sleep following the midnight run in Milford. Not that you could class the rest as sleep. Mindful that there was no chance of a deep sleep and the need to get out of the Derbyshire hotel by 4.30am on New Year's Day, this was the sort of half, drifting sleep.

My friend Liz and myself were up and out of the hotel in a few shakes, and very soon on the road south to Birmingham, and then hitting the M5 towards the south-west towards Cornwall.

It's 270 miles from Milford to Bodmin, and with one stop at the Gordano Services near Bristol for a breakfast of hot chocolate and almond croissants, we arrived at Jamaica In in the village of Bolventor in good time for the next race in the challenge.

The Brown Willy 6 is a race which has been a traditional run in the Cornish calendar for donkey's years. This year, the New Year's Day run attracted 250 runners from across the region.

Beforehand runners were telling me tales of some of the awful weather the race has had in previous years. As we looked outside, the sun was shining, the wind was not blowing too hard - conditions were good.

But by race start, the wind had picked up, conditions were a little overcast, and I decided to dress very conservatively for the race. I looked more like a Michelin man with my rain jacket, three layers of clothing underneath, woolly hat, gloves and leggings. I was taking no chances.

I had been warned about muddy, boggy conditions, and the first part of the race was fairly gentle with a steady climb. Very soon, we started to come across the boggy areas, and it was a case of carefully picking your way across the moorland.

The hill which I thought was Brown Willy, Cornwall's highest point, clearly wasn't. Because when we reached the crest of this one top, runners were stretched out into the distance to the next ridge.

And it was at that ridge that we finally saw the imposing peak of Brown Willy standing 1,375 feet high. By this time, the rain had closed in, and conditions under foot were tough.

The lead runners were on their way back having reached the tor at the top of Brown Willy. The final 200 metres to the top were so steep it was impossible to run up them. We picked our way up to the summit striding up as quick as we dare.

Once at the top, the view was stunning. The sweep of Cornwall before you, and down below more runners coming up the hill.

I thought it would be easy after this, all downhill, but a sharp hailstorm reminded me this run would not be easy.

Tiredness kicked in, and where once I was jumping ditches and bogs, using stones to step off, my legs refused to engage what my brain was telling them to do. I was slipping and sliding all over the shop, and it was a case of hanging in there.

Race-wise I wasn't faring too badly, right in the middle of the field, but my knees were hurting from the bone-crunching running across the unyielding terrain.

Eventually, Jamaica Inn came into sight. A welcome vision because that was the finish. I soon picked up the pace and was striding the uphill finish.

My watch told me the course was 6.8 miles long, the time of 66 minutes told me how hard it was. Normally I would have expected to have run that distance 20 minutes faster.

The overnight travelling can't have helped, but despite the tiredness the race was a spectacular way to celebrate New Year's Day.

Liz finished a little while later in 1 hour 40 minutes which was a great effort. As she finished, the heavens really tipped it open - it's Cornish sunshine shouted one wag.

Despite the rain, it didn't dampen the spirits. Two races out of the way - 78 more to come.